In most cases, abdominal palpation yields useful information; in some cases, it is crucial. Begin by gently placing your warm hand on the epigastric area and let your hand relax. (This approach ...

Physical examination should be used to first identify unstable patients who need immediate attention. 1 Vital signs and body weight should be measured. Dehydration is common because of diarrhea, which ...

A 12-year-old female was sent by her pediatrician to the emergency department for investigation of severe suprapubic abdominal pain that radiated to her lower back. She reported that the pain had ...

In this Journal feature, information about a real patient is presented in stages (boldface type) to an expert clinician, who responds to the information by sharing relevant background and reasoning ...

Acute and chronic constipation together accounted for nearly half of all cases of acute abdominal pain in children treated at one hospital. The study also suggests that physicians should do a simple ...

Dr. Emily W. Lopes: An 89-year-old man was evaluated at this hospital because of recurrent bloody stools. Two years before the current evaluation, the patient underwent repair of a right inguinal ...

Make sure your hands are warm. Typically, you would use indirect percussion on the abdominal examination. This involves placing your nondominant hand on the skin and tapping the middle finger of this ...